Thursday, September 12, 2019
The Battle Royal and the Hospital
Ellison has a habit of repeating themes and patterns throughout the novel. An important one that should be acknowledged is how the eleventh chapter mirrors the first. The first chapter covers the events of the Battle Royal while the eleventh is about the narrator’s time at the factory hospital after being “treated”. Both chapters have multiple similar aspects but with a different perspective of the narrator.
In chapter one, the narrator’s grandfather figuratively opens the narrator’s eyes unsuccessfully by revealing his secret. In the next scene, he is said to be blinded by the naked dancing woman. Similarly in chapter eleven, the narrator is physically woken up after being hurt in the previous chapter and sees the “bright third eye that glowed from the center of his forehead” (Wright 231). In both chapters, the narrator is being spectated by random people and is watched like some kind of experiment or entertainment. However, the narrator seems more aware of this in the eleventh chapter than in the first.
Another similarity is with the spectators themselves. In the Battle Royal, the spectators yelled conflicting orders at the black people to both look and not look at the dancing woman. In the hospital, the doctors give him many strange orders and questions, with some yelling and some just speaking to him. One of the most striking similarities is with the electricity. In the battle royal, the narrator is shocked by the electrified rug and sees another person “dancing” while being shocked on it. Almost directly mirroring this scene, the narrator is electrocuted and the doctors talk about how he is dancing and has good rhythm.
The narrator comes out of each of these experiences differently. In the first chapter, he receives his scholarship after answering correctly to the white peoples’ questions. In the eleventh chapter, the narrator leaves with a new personality but doesn’t answer the doctors’ questions correctly and takes it as more of a joke.
I probably missed some other references. If you find another or thought any of these were interesting, please comment your thoughts!
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I like the parallels you drew from these two chapters! I also think it's important to note how in the first chapter, the narrator leaves with a scholarship, kind of like a sign saying "this boy here is sanctioned by the white community to enter higher society" and in the hospital chapter, he leaves with a doctor's note, basically saying "this boy here is sanctioned by the white community to re-enter society". I also think it's important to note another difference in how the narrator thinks; in the first chapter, the narrator almost isn't registering his surroundings and is just focused on his speech, but in the hospital scene he is registering the racist remarks and the questions he's being asked and begins to internalize them, triggering his quest for his identity.
ReplyDeleteI'd not thought about these similarities, and I think that you're correct. In both cases, the narrator is de-personified by powerful white institutions (literally a club in one, and the factory hospital in the other). His situation in the hospital is mocked, as some of the doctors randomly threaten him with castration, while the other claims that he has restructured the narrator's brain without surgery, very similar to the mockery he is forced to endure during the battle royale.
ReplyDeleteI think that this similarity is another indication of the narrator's growth throughout the novel. In the beginning, he disregarded his grandfather's message and got the scholarship, which ultimately led him back where he started, basically keeping him running. However, as he's "rebirthed" in this new chapter he starts to become aware and skeptical of things. He figuratively sees this third eye on the doctor and starts to peek behind the curtain at what's really going on. He realizes they aren't trying to help him, but are using him as an experiment. The mirroring of these two scenes was definitely intended by Ellison to display the progression of the narrator's conscience.
ReplyDeleteOmg you're right there are so many parallels in this book. Sometimes it's almost painful to realize all the "boomerangs". Not as painful as the frustration with thinking that you've missed some though. I did not even consider the parallel you mention in this blog post. It's really observant. The narrator does seem to be constantly under watch, jumping from spectator group to spectator group--the rich men, bledsoe, the brotherhood--even making his second speech he was being scrutinized by Jack. Interesting--thank you for pointing this out!
ReplyDeleteMe too! I had noticed some similarities before but I didn't even think of this one at all. I also didn't think about how the narrator is CONSTANTLY under watch. Obviously I've noticed the different times where he is seemingly under supervision, but I didn't really put all those times together, I just thought of them as separate incidents.
DeleteI completely agree that Ellison like repeating scenarios in this book. Phong also has a great point about this on his blog, talking about how the Bledsoe dynamic is repeated. I think that Ellison is really trying to drive home the idea that while the surroundings change, the basic structure of things are still there. I’m wondering if we will see these situations repeated more and more throughout the book, each time in different places and with different motives, but seemingly slightly less outrageous each time. Then when we look back at the book as a whole, we will see scenarios that seem basically normal and that happen in our everyday lives and can directly connect them to these outrageous scenes that seem almost too crazy to be real. I think Ellison’s goal with this novel is to show us how outrageous and crazy many of the things that are happening in our world actually are, and he has a very interesting and effective way of doing so.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Collin. The two scenes have very similar themes and somewhat mirrors certain aspects of the two. It is kind of weird to see too oddly similar events but this repetition of events is very prominent throughout the novel. But what we see that is different between the two scenes is the reactions of the narrator. In the Battle Royal he is conforming to the whites and their ideology. But in the hospital it is apparent that the narrator has changed. He kind of acts a little more "equal" in the hospital when mentioning Norton. The repetition of similar scenes shows the narrator's growth as a character which is a very interesting way to show growth. Put a character in pretty much the same situation on two separate occasions and see how they react. Genius by Ellison.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about these similarities! I knew that Ellison used a lot of similarities throughout the novel but I hadn't thought of this one specifically. I definitely see how these two scenes are very similar, especially regarding the electricity and the comments people make. I also think another similarity that Ellison uses is with "multiple" Dr. Bledsoes. Dr. Bledsoe pretends to be a nice man, but turns around an completely manipulates the reader. This is very similar to how to Brotherhood is treating the Narrator.
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